# Why do many on this forum enjoy capitalizing random common nouns?



## Ether's Bane (Feb 21, 2013)

^

(To name a few: Fynx, Hiikaru, Cirrus, and more recently, Poly)


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## Autumn (Feb 21, 2013)

because Reasons


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## surskitty (Feb 21, 2013)

There's a certain kind of emphasis that's appropriate for Capitalised Things.  It's kind of visual shorthand for when you're careful to enunciate.


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## Zero Moment (Feb 21, 2013)

I'm Not Quite Sure What You Mean?


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## Butterfree (Feb 21, 2013)

Capitalizing random common nouns is what Serebii does. What these people do, as far as I've seen, is capitalizing for emphasis, as a way of transferring some of the implications of uniqueness and importance of proper nouns onto concepts that aren't. So, for example, "I don't really think that's an important thing" vs. "I don't really think that's an Important Thing" is the distinction between merely saying you don't think something is important, on the one hand, and implying there is a special category of things called Important Things and you don't think this is one of them, on the other. In the latter scenario, it may be somewhat important, but it's not important enough to be considered one of _the_ Important Things.

So, in other words, it's using capitalization to apply a nuance. Feel free to think it's grammatically nonsensical, but it's certainly not random.


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## Autumn (Feb 21, 2013)

Butterfree said:


> Capitalizing random common nouns is what Serebii does.


do you know if serebii is a native english speaker

but back on topic yeah butterfree pretty much nailed it. it's a weird sort of specific emphasis thing.


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## ultraviolet (Feb 21, 2013)

I didn't know it was a Serebii thing! :o but I think I've browsed Serebii forums maybe once.


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## Murkrow (Feb 21, 2013)

Polymetric Sesquialtera said:


> do you know if serebii is a native english speaker


Yeah, he's English iirc


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## Tailsy (Feb 21, 2013)

Serebii is English! But that's the English education system fo _WHO SAID THAT_

But yeah, it's just a kind of emphasis that kinda stresses the beginnings of each word? So italicising the whole word isn't appropriate, but Capitalising It For Emphasis is!


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## Minish (Feb 21, 2013)

Huh. I feel I'm much more prone to passive-aggressive tildes.


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## Vipera Magnifica (Feb 21, 2013)

If I _really_ want to emphasize something, I'm MUCH more inclined to italicize or use all-caps.


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## Ether's Bane (Feb 22, 2013)

Minish said:


> Huh. I feel I'm much more prone to passive-aggressive tildes.


I think I may have confused you with uv in the OP. Sorry!



Vehement Mustelid said:


> If I _really_ want to emphasize something, I'm MUCH more inclined to italicize or use all-caps.


Same.


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## Mai (Feb 22, 2013)

> If I /really/ want to emphasize something, I'm _much_ more inclined to italicize or fake!italicize using slashes.


I think I tend to emphasize things in a vaguely varied way, actually??? But I'm not really meta enough about my typing to tell; I just do whatever seems to fit best at the time. Sometimes that means random caps. 

... I think it would be kind of interesting, though, to have everyone here do something similar to that quote? But more standardized, I mean, and also somewhat broader; some generic survey about how you'd stress certain sentences/write ideas


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## Tarvos (Feb 22, 2013)

I just use italics or caps... unless I'm being intentionally ironic.

So, always then.


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